Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Tuesday Lectionary Leanings: Better Late Than Never Edition

Hi friends. My day has been chock-full-o' meetings today, so I am getting to this a little late. You can find the Revised Common Lectionary here.

I will be focusing on the Markan passage this week. I have decided to sneak up on the congregation with the ideas of stewardship. Okay, not really sneak, but explore these ideas in several different ways over several Sundays.

This week I have been reading the book by Judith Levine titled Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping. In true stewardship fashion, I borrowed it from the library! What does it mean to live without shopping as entertainment? How can we adopt a spirit of stewardship in every aspect of our lives? What more--in terms of time, talent, and treaure--could we offer the mission of the church if we spent less on non-essentials?

These are the ideas I have kicking around in my head this week.

What ideas are kicking around your head this week as you prepare to preach, lead worship, participate in church life, or study in seminary?

14 comments:

Perhaps the most exciting thing to me about sermon writing is a good title! I'm going with "The One Thing." And, I'm going to talk about 'the one thing' (and it's different for everybody) that keeps us from following Christ. Yet, Christ always knows what our potential is - so he keeps after that one thing. I still have a lot of work to do, but that's where I'm starting.

I'm also working on the passage from Mark. The Board has decided to do a pledge campaign this year - we don't usually - and ask the members to "Grow One" percent in their giving. The pledges will be dedicated November 12. So, like you Cheesehead, I'll be leading up to that for the next few weeks.

I also have a list of Dreams people offered up at the Jubilee - and further along in this passage Jesus makes it clear that we have to make following him the priority.

So . . .increased giving of money and of our dedication to carrying the Good News, serving the neighbor, caring for each other - all of these are ways to live the kingdom.

I'm prepping to lead us through the last of the major fall holidays, Shemini Atzeret. My "content" from last week is posted on my blog. So in true procrastinatory fashion, I'm planning three miniature quilts for a show in March.

I'm preaching this Sunday for the first time at this new year long internship. The pastor of small church in Florida has been working his way through the book of Acts, one chapter at a time. So I'm sliding into the schedule as I preach this week and in two weeks again. I have Acts 16 and 17 (the week inbetween is a guest preacher). This Sunday I think I'm going to preach about the movement of the Holy Spirit. The challenge will be getting it done early ... by Friday afternoon ... since my parents are flying into town to visit me and see where I'll be for the next year.

Right this minute, I think I'm going with Job and the need to lament and the notion that lamenting is part of our relationship with God, not a betrayal of it. Does that sound reasonable?(I enjoyed talking Monday mostly off, but I'm playing catch-up...)

I am looking at Mark...but the Job suggestion from songbird is a fitting one as well...In Mark's gospel, Jesus loves the young man. He asks for perfection, but always in love. And in the end, we cannot will ourselves to perfection. We must allow God to enter and change us. This means lamenting and praising and and and...

And the Hebrews passage works well to support that direction, Tripp. Now that I'm going around the lectionary for the second time, I remember the last go-round on these lectionary passages, and how much I liked that sermon. Ah, well. New every morning, right?

Interesting article in the October 9 TIME magazine on perfection and its relationship to certainty and fundamentalism. To my mind, perfection belongs to God - my only shot at it - if I even have one - is that God looks through Jesus when God looks at me.

I'm preaching on the widow's mite. Have you ever noticed how stewardship sermons make the widows and their mites feel guilty about not doing enough and the Pharisees all the more certain that they do more than anyone else? Blessings for the journey!

I'm still slogging away with "the other man" in my life (as DH calls Mark.) This week it's Mark 3:7-35. I'm just playing with building blocks... observations, relationships and categorizing my questions.

What is taking more of my time, actually, is a 500 word essay on "The Decalogue and Ethical Monotheism". (I think I'll go weed my garden...)

Wow great ideas.I am glad I am not preaching this weekend, its Laity Sunday. But I remember preaching this passage also as lectionary like Songbird.

We spent last night in Finance going over the budget. I was really proud of them on some of the areas of ministry and missions that they increased the budget for. I just wasn't sure if they were still in a fear factor or not. Praying for those who preach this week.

Abandoned or not? is my topical sermon this weekend. To acknowledge there is suffering (Job).

Often the domino affect causes more than we know. God may be silent, but we are not abandoned.

In Mark the rich young ruler ID's himself with the worldlystuff rather than being the child of the Loving Creator God. So he gets fooled by the glitter and doesn't 'see' the Jesus' way of being in the world. He then causes his own problems.

Where does our own ID lie?

By the way, it is also World Food Day on the 15th. 150 countries acknowledge this Day. It started in 1945 to celebrate the beginning of the United Nation's Food and Agricultural Organization.

We will do some things with the children on food unfairness. And how they feel about it when they don't have an equal share. ......of course they will leave with an equal share of the boxed raisins. I'll be the main 'loser' in this.

Stewardship is a way of living! And this is a good week for that too. Giving for the 'right' reasons is important to get across, but not always the easiest.

Prayers for all, including preachers, choir members, and those who hear....

SO often we talk avbout the Word of God as this nice affirming supportive Word. But sometimes the Word shows GOd's love through challenge or rebuke (the two-edged sword in Hebrews reminded meof the cutting aspect of the Living Word).

My sermon for SUnday is going to talk about that side in The Word Live -- and Cuts. Opening thoughts have been posted on the church blog

ANd since I was out of town until this morning I haven't much more than those opening thoughts...